Set in the remote mountain area of Stranzha in South East Bulgaria, Kerana Angelova’s novel explores vital tensions between human physicality and spirituality in a narrative spanning four generations. The dramatic action takes place amidst a pervasive but threatened natural environment, of ancient forests, ruthlessly logged and a sea which is overfished. Stranzha is a place that is a place that is both specific and otherworldly, in time and out of time, a place where old pagan/Christian practices persist, despite the changes in the outside world - vicious territorial wars, ethnic cleansing and communism. Remote Stranzha proves to be an ideal stage for an entirely original examination of the human condition.
Christopher Buxton, novelist and translator
This novel tells about several magical lives. It believes in the internal shelters, in the perseverance with which, despite our trials, Good pursues us while we are building our human homes and giving birth to our human children.
Ina Ivanova, writer
